1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to security systems for protecting facilities, personnel, and communications in a defined area from military or terrorist threats such as hostile forces, fire arms, mortars, explosives, and/or attack vehicles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Security zones for protecting groups of people and facilities be they private, public, diplomatic, military, or other, can be dangerous environments for people and property if threatened by military acts or acts of terrorism. The prior arts in security systems and armored protection provide some solutions but fall far short of being synergistically integrated.
In the prior art, automated security systems sense disturbances to an ambient condition and cause alarms to be activated, but these systems fall short of being able to identify many cause(s) of a disturbance. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0031934 by Kevin Kriegel titled “Monitoring System”, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses a system that monitors and controls devices that may sense and report a location's physical characteristics through a distributed network. Based on sensed characteristics, the system may determine and/or change a security level at a location. The system may include a sensor, an access device, and a data center. The sensor detects or measures a condition at a location. The access device communicates with the sensor and the data center. The data center communicates with devices in the system, manages data received from the access device, and may transmit data to the access device.
Rows of concrete barrier blocks (i.e. rows of concrete barrier modules) that can slide across the ground can stop and destroy terrorist vehicles that collide with them, and can protect against blast waves and blast debris, but they offer no earlier warning signals of threats. U.S. Pat. No. 7,144,186 to Roger Allen Nolte titled “Massive Security Barrier”, U.S. Pat. No. 7,144,187 to Roger Allen Nolte and Barclay J. Tullis titled “Cabled Massive Security Barrier”, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,654,768 to Barclay J. Tullis, Roger Allen Nolte, and Charles Merrill titled “Massive Security Barriers Having Tie-Bars in Tunnels”, all incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, disclose barrier modules and barriers constructed of barrier modules. U.S. Pat. No. 7,144,186 discloses barrier modules, each with at least one rectangular tie-bar of steel cast permanently within concrete or other solid material and extending longitudinally between opposite sides of the barrier module, wherein adjacent barrier modules are coupled side-against-side by means of strong coupling devices between adjacent tie-bars, and wherein no ground penetrating anchoring means is involved. But since the tie-bars are cast within the barrier modules, they cannot be changed out or upgraded without removing and replacing the solid material as well. However, U.S. Pat. No. 7,144,187 discloses barrier modules of solid material with tunnels extending between opposite sides, wherein adjacent barrier modules are coupled side-against-side with cables passing through the tunnels and anchored to sides of at least some of the barrier modules by anchoring devices. And U.S. Pat. No. 7,654,768 discloses barrier modules that have tie-bars in tunnels that extend longitudinally between opposite sides of a barrier module.
Armored steel guard houses and other armored structures for buildings provide some protections to their occupants, but also do not integrate conveniently with communication infrastructure needed to support an electronic security system. However, U.S. Pat. No. 7,661,228 to Roger Allen Nolte and Donald L. Selke titled “Armored building modules and panels”, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses armored building elements that not only have open channels running throughout their length, but also create an open channel between any two that are abutted side-by-side to one-another, and it is these channels that afford much of the structures resistance to mortar and ballistic weaponry.